Renegades Part 4
by SomethingCalledShips
Summary: A multi ship series where eight YouTubers find themselves thrust into a gladiatorial competition of kill-or-be-killed confined to the state of California. Together, these eight YouTubers must face blood shed, tears, love, and war as they battle for their survival in the "program," The Renegade Program. Ships: H2OVanoss, Minicat, Terrornuckel, DaithiDeLui
1. Chapter 32-Biggest Mistake of Your Life

Alexa was driving the white van, Brian sitting in the passenger seat with Evan, David, Craig, and Tyler in back. Evan was dressed in the same black tux the other men were in; Alexa was wearing a new small black dress. They all looked as if they'd just come from a funeral. The van was silent as well, only disrupted by Brian's low voice as he directed Alexa through the Beverly Hills streets to a small little restaurant. The six of them were the decoy squad, sporting enough weapons and ammunition to massacre anything that stood in their path. But they had a special target, and that special target was someone they were all itching to see bleed.

Beside Evan sat David, hunched over, his dark hair slicked back and his glasses and shoes freshly polished. In his lap was a laptop, monitoring a certain three other people's positions on a radar scan of the downtown area. Three small, pulsating blips on the computer monitor with small name tags attached to each huddled together on a street, most likely inside the Orange Outback. Evan felt his stomach flip as he read Jonathan's tag on the screen.

David caught Evan's sideways look, drawing his lips into a thin line of understanding.

"They're fine, Ev," David responded, his voice hushed in the quiet car.

Evan nodded, leaning his head back against the metal van side. His heart was still pounding against his rib cage and he couldn't calm himself down. This was their last shot, their only shot. If any of them fucked up, even by missing one bullet, they would all suffer.

Up front, he heard Brian shift in his seat, and Evan looked up to see Brian starring back at them. Brian didn't need to ask, Evan and David already knew. A near year and a half together and you start to read one another's minds.

"He's fine."

Brian nodded a thanks and turned back to face front. The car fell silent again. Evan was restless; he took out his HK45C and reloaded the gun for the third time. Across from him, he caught Tyler's eyes watching his silent, slightly jittery hands. Beside Tyler was Craig, leaning against Tyler's shoulder and starring at nothing, lost in thought. Tyler glanced down at Craig, taking his hand in his and giving it a squeeze, bringing him back to the present and his eyes up to Tyler's.

"It's on the right," Brian's voice drifted to the backseats. Craig's eyes widened slightly as he heard those words, and Tyler's grasp around his hand tightened. Evan felt his stomach lurch as well, and next to him David stiffened.

The white van swerved slightly and came to a slow stand still as Alexa parked the van on the street. She gently yanked the parking gear on and sat still in the driver's seat, her recently curled hair swaying as she turned her head too her right. Evan could hear pedestrians outside walking past their van, talking as if nothing about today was special.

Brian looked up at Alexa, yanking his jacket down to hide his PM 63 RAK.

"Ready?"

Brian just sighed. He looked out his passenger window blankly. Alexa sighed as well, turning in her seat to look behind her. She caught Evan's eye, but he looked away. The van was silent for a long time before, finally, Craig spoke.

"One thing you wished you had done."

Evan looked up at the British man across from him, a smile playing on his lips as he remembered the last time they had asked that question of themselves. Upfront, he heard Alexa give off a breathy laugh. Craig caught his eye, and smiled encouragingly.

"Fought you fuckers harder for the kitchen," Evan replied. Craig blushed as he remembered that little fight, while Tyler wrapped an arm around him, chuckling as the memory. Evan smiled too while up front Brian and Alexa groaned.

"I should have made you guys do dead lifts in boot camp after that stunt," Alexa jokingly growled. Brian chuckled in agreement.

"What's all this?" Tyler asked, glancing from Craig to Alexa and back.

"At the bank heist," Craig began, "when my group was stuck, out of ammo, thinking we were gonna die, we said one last thing we wished we had done."

"I should have contacted my mom," Alexa spoke up, sighing. "Ended it on a bad note, and I think I regret that. Just called up and apologized before…"

"We're not gonna die though," Brian cut in, turning in his seat to look at Alexa then at the rest of the van. Evan sighed, chewing on his lip, not meeting Brian's eyes.

"Right?" Brian's question was left to hang in the air, a reminder of just how dangerous this mission was. They shouldn't have anything to loose except their lives, that was why Evan broke Sydney's heart, why he trained so hard, why he tried to look over his feelings for Jonathan. Good thing it worked out so well. He sat next to David on the way over here entirely to watch Jonathan's tag on his computer screen.

"I should have missed my plane out to LA," Evan mussed, his eyes trained on the floor as he spoke. "No offense or anything guys."

"None taken," came the soft murmur of everyone in the van.

Silence ensued for another long stretch of time, before being broken by Brian.

"Well, that certainly put all us all in the correct mood."

"Then let's get this over with," Alexa spoke, switching off the car engine and pushing open the driver's door. She stepped out onto the street, Brian clambering out the passenger's door before throwing open the back doors. Evan stood, hiding his pistol back in the back of his pants while David shut his laptop down and slid it under one of the seats. Evan watched him as David lifted his hand up to his ear, switching on the ear piece and asking if the other three could hear them. After a brief pause, he looked up at Evan and nodded.

The four in the back of the van filed out, joining Alexa and Brian on the sidewalk outside a small steak house restaurant. Evan noticed the few looks from strangers the group of six got, but he was more concerned with the group of dark suited men equipped with dark visors and ear pieces inside watching the small group.

"Okay guys," Alexa breathed as they made their way to the door. "Just as we planned. Evan and I talk, Brian tears up, David stays in the back and gives the signal. Stick to the plan, and we make it through."

Evan nodded with the others.

As she reached the door, Alexa stopped, her hand clasped around the metal handle.

"We'll all make it through," Evan clarified, looking pointedly at her. Alexa turned to glance at him, unmoving for a split second, before swinging the glass door open. She greeted the waiter with a sugary yet sad smile complete with a weighted glance back at her friends before informing the waiter they were meeting people.

Evan couldn't get her look out of his head. Something was off about her, something he couldn't understand. She'd had that same look since Brock regained consciousness. Jonathan had brushed it off, saying she was just focused in on training and wanted to get out, but today it was different. It had a zen quality to it, a lightness he'd never seen. Following behind her as their group of six weaved their way around the packed and busy restaurant to the long table in the back, she acted like her normal self. But that look…

Evan snapped out of it when Alexa stopped in her tracks, every muscled clenched in her body as she recognized the man sitting in the middle across from their empty seats.

It was show time.

"Mr. Fong, Ms. Michaels," hissed Mr. Clark, or Snake Man as Alexa and Jonathan loved to refer to him as, extending his hand to shake theirs as the others filled in around the two. On either side of Mr. Clarks sat two more representatives, both dressed similarly in snug fitting black suits and black ties complete. Behind them were three thugs, dressed similarly, but with plastic wires connecting bluetooth devices to ear and dark glasses. Six in total. Perfect.

Evan glanced down at Alexa, feeling an intense wave of fury emanate from her. She didn't move to shake his hand, so Evan did, giving him a wiry and tired grin.

"Please, sit," Mr. Clark gave a grand gesture to the chairs lining the long table in front of them, and Evan sat, Alexa on his right and Tyler on his left. Craig sat next to Tyler while Brian sat next to Alexa, David stood shaking his head with a rough smile when offered a chair — "I've got to take care of some finance issues" — and took up position next to Craig and immediately brought his phone up to his ear. His job was the keep attention away from David for as long as possible while he tracked the other's progress.

"So, may I ask, why the fancy dress?" Mr. Clark's pale brow creased in sympathy as he glanced down the row of boys and Alexa. His eyes lingered extra long on her, enjoying the hatred seeping from her.

"Funeral," Evan responded, glancing down past Alexa to Brian as if checking his every word. "I'm sure you noticed we're missing a few people."

"Yes, I did notice," Mr. Clark mused, interlacing his fingers as he leaned on his elbows, an apologetic smile on his face. "Please accept my sincerest condolences."

"You can shove them right back up your ass," Alexa responded hotly. Evan jerked his head, his eyebrows raising in alarm as he took in the small girl sitting next to him, her eyes trained on Mr. Clark. He raised an eyebrow, giving her a disinterested yet surprised look.

"After sending me those videos…you expect me to take an apology like that?"

Mr. Clark closed his eyes, nodding.

"Alexa," Evan hissed into her ear, touching her shoulder lightly. "You need to be calm. This is our only chance." Alexa sighed, closing her eyes and nodding. Evan straightened up, noting Mr. Clark's eyes glancing between the two with a not-so-well-hidden smirk.

"You have to understand Alexa—"

"Ms. Michaels."

Mr. Clark paused raising an eyebrow at her before continuing, seeing he wasn't going to get an option on this. "—Ms. Michaels, you have to understand we had no other options to reach your little group—"

"You declared WAR on us, you KILLED our friends, you are RESPONSIBLE for the death of my brothers, I—"

"Alexa," Evan hissed again, this time pressing his hand onto hers. She flinched noticeably, and Evan had to fight the urge to glance at Mr. Clark to see if he noticed. She recovered quickly though, and sighed, apologizing low under her breath.

"Maybe its best if your quiet for a bit, okay?" Evan cooed, loud enough for Mr. Clark across the table to hear him. "We're all a little strung out right now, the last thing we want is a fight, okay? I don't think any of us can handle much more violence, especially, Brian," Evan emphasized that last statement by glancing over Alexa's head to Brian, who was sitting in silence with the gloomiest expression Evan had ever seen on him.

Evan turned back to Mr. Clark, digging his nails into his skin to bring tears to his eyes. Mr. Clark was watching the little interaction with interest, and now turned with equal interest to Evan.

"I'm sorry. We're all a little tired—a lot tired—and we are just looking for a way out."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Mr. Clark apologized, leaning forward on his elbows again. He glanced to the representative on his right who produced a small brief case, undoing the case with a gentle pop and taking out six sheets of paper.

Brian sniffed then, and Evan pulled out one of Kleenex's he'd kept in his pocket for this moment, he leaned behind Alexa, who grabbed the papers for the two, while Evan handed the Kleenex to Brian. Brian was blinking fast, keeping back imaginary tears, but Evan could count the nine individual times he blinked before raising the towel to his face. Evan sat back satisfied; they had no idea where the other three were.

"What's this?" Evan asked, looking down at each document and reading.

"Well, good to know you're reading it this time," Mr. Clark tried to be funny, but when he got no reaction from any of them—with the exception of a wicked glare from Alexa—Mr. Clark swallowed and continued speaking.

"These documents will release won't release you from the program, since we cannot do that, however, we can promise you a safer existence as bodyguards for our big investors, or as general guards for company locations."

"Like the banks?" Tyler cut in. Evan kicked him under the table, but he couldn't help but smirk a little at that jab. Especially seeing the way Mr. Clark's jaw set in response.

"Yes," he replied shortly, flashing an unimpressed glare Tyler's way before focusing back on Evan.

"We could locate you to any of our buildings, not necessarily all together, but safety isn't always easy to accomplish for…a group such as yourselves…"

Alexa stiffened next to him, but remained silent. Evan glanced at Brian now. Distraction time.

Brian lowered his head, shaking as if he was crying silently. Alexa noticed, wrapping an arm around him and speaking soft and low into his ear. Mr. Clark glanced at the two, but continued, glancing every now and then at the two.

"While our banks always need extra protection, we can also locate you to our main towers if you…wished…they have fairly good Renegade protection, but I'm sure we can fight a few spots for…some of you…"

"Is it mostly Renegade protection there?" Evan asked, pressing a hand on Alexa's back and glancing from them to Mr. Clark.

"Yes…some computer security, but well-trained Renegade power is hard to beat…"

"Well-trained?"

"Come now, Mr. Fong, you don't really think we keep our best Renegades out in the field now, do you?" Mr. Clark turned his focus on him now with a sneer. "It's all good fun to bet on which group will kill which, but if we're going to keep betting, we need to keep our best closest."

"So…the Renegades we've faced already…none of them—"

"Good? You can say that," Mr. Clark smiled. "You boys have proven yourselves though, so like I said, I'm sure we can find some spots for a few…the better ones, anyway," Mr. Clark surveyed the line of six with mild distain.

Evan felt a hand on his shoulder then. He didn't even need to look up to know it was David. "It's done. We're all set," David whispered into Evan's ear, his voice and the sound of his Kimber 1911 Raptor dual pistols being cocked and readied shrouded from Mr. Clark's ears by the nosey restaurant behind them.

Evan grinned nastily upon hearing that, his eyes never leaving Mr. Clark's. This had been way too easy to pull off. Everything from the little touches between Alexa and he to Brian's break down in the corner, all too easy. Fucking idiots.

"No offense to your guards, Mr. Clark, but we ARE the better ones," Evan snarled, standing up and kicking back his chair. From its holster on his back, Evan produced his HK45C and took aim at Mr. Clark, also rising in alarm along with his two friends. The guards stepped forward, producing their own weapons, only to find themselves outnumbered as Alexa, Brian, and Tyler, pulled out their weapons. The representative on Mr. Clark's right made a reach for the brief case, but screamed when a Gold Spring Latch Butterfly Knife imbedded itself into his hand.

Craig smirked. "I'll be taking that," he smirked, reaching with one hand for the brief case while the other dug the knife deeper into the man's hand, enjoying the screams a little too much before ripping it out. "That's for nearly killing me," he snarled, flicking the knife back into his pocket.

Around them were screams and scrapes of chairs and tables as people pushed to get away from the their little scene in the back of restaurant. Police would be called soon, and without even needing Evan's signal, David left to start the car while Brian went around the restaurant, placing C4s under every other table.

"You lying little fuckers," Mr. Clark spat. Evan laughed, nodding his head for Alexa and Craig to start tying them all up, using zip ties on their wrists then zip ties to the chairs. "You lost your friends and this is what you do the day of their funeral? A suicide mission?"

"Oh, they're alive," Evan promised, smiling. "In fact, they were already looking into making a few open guard spots at Abra Inc. for us. They've been hard at work while we've been here, distracting you, basically."

"What…?" Mr. Clark starred, wide eyed at Evan. Alexa shoved him back down into his chair, zip tying his wrists together all to unkindly. He glanced from her to Evan and back, confused. "But—but the attack—"

"Your attack almost killed my boyfriend," Brian came back, priming the detonator clasped in his hand and flashing it at the six before them with a glare. "And for that, I can't forgive you fuckers."

"You're making a big mistake, all of you," Mr. Clark hissed, glancing around at all of them. "When you get to those towers, you will all die. You can't possibly fight off two hundred plus Renegade guards."

Evan smiled, raising an eyebrow. He glanced around at his friends, Tyler with his arm around Craig, the two glancing at each other and chuckling, David rolling his neck and cracking his knuckles, Brian reloading his RAK with the detonator safely tucked into his side pocket, and Alexa with her arms folded across her chest shaking her head pitifully. When Evan looked back, he could see the fear eating away at Mr. Clark's and his companions cool exteriors.

"When I came to at our base after being rescued from my first Renegade encounter, I was told I would have to kill five hundred men to have a chance of escape. A year and a half of training was all preparing for that. Now you tell me I have to fight off two hundred?" Evan chuckled, his friends joining him in laugh. He nudged Alexa, who unfolded her arms and pointed her Berettas straight at Mr. Clark's snake-like face. Firing squad style, the others aimed their weapons as well.

"All I have to say to that is…really? Two hundred men? Bring it on," Evan grinned, and pulled the trigger. Let the suicide mission begin.


	2. Chapter 33 - Taking It All Back

"We're rolling out," Lui called to the backseat, signaling with his hand as Jonathan and Brock pushed open the Orange Outback's doors and stepped onto the busy street. They were also dressed in suits and ties, dark glasses over their eyes and active bluetooth pieces stuck in their ears. The bluetooth pieces were partially to hide communicate, too look professional, and also to hide to wax stuffed into their ears to protect from the explosions.

Brock grunted slightly, and Lui instantly jumped to his side, giving him something to lean on slightly as he adjusted his KRISS Vector, his favorite gun, hidden under his suite jacket. While Lui helped him, Jonathan surveyed the three towers opposite them: one tower each, one chance to hold up each tower and evacuate before anything bad happened. This was a fight between them and the program.

"You good Brock?" Lui asked, patting his shoulder. Jonathan watched Brock skeptically; Brock was the one they had to worry about. The three of them were chosen because of their anonymity: Jonathan had never shown his face before, Lui was always behind the scenes in heists and fell off the YouTube wagon, and Brock was supposedly dead. The trio were the ideal people to use for this, but Brock was still a wild card. Neither Lui or Jonathan would be able to cover him if he messed up in his tower.

Feeling his eyes on him, Brock looked up and made eye contact with Jonathan.

"I'm okay," he said, directing his words specifically at Jonathan, gently brushing Lui off.

"You know we can't help you if anything goes down in there," Jonathan hissed, his voice crackling over the bluetooth and mic invisibly attached to his ear.

"I'm okay," Brock repeated, a little more heatedly this time, and Jonathan decided to drop it. Just trust the guy, even though Brian would kill him if he lost Brock.

Turning back to the three towers, Jonathan stepped into the street, Lui and Brock following close behind him. It was high traffic, and cars were pretty much stopped on the street, so the three got across with little hassle and easily pushed through the throngs of people on the sidewalks. The trio climbed the small, wide stairs leading up to the Abra Inc. courtyard, complete with a fountain and a large, long sign that read "Abra Inc." in sprawling text. Above the courtyard loomed the three towers, dazzling in the midday Los Angeles sun, large glass revolving doors marking the entrance to each tower. Outside each revolving door lingered maybe ten guards dressed in similar clothes to their own. Jonathan allowed himself to breath a sigh of relief; lucky guess on their part.

Jonathan slowed, clearing his throat the grab the other two's attention as he mumbled into his mic.

"Lui, status on the decoys?"

"They have no idea we are here…"

"Perfect. I'll take the left tower, Brock takes middle, Lui takes right," Jonathan instructed. The group separated, bee lining their ways to the different tower doors. The left tower, Jonathan's tower, loomed over him, its shadow creeping ever nearer as he stepped towards it. It was a little crazy to, after all these years, finally be taking these steps to end his time in Renegades. It was a dream he and Alexa had shared for years, and now…

The guards at the door didn't give him a second look. One gave him a gruff nod which Jonathan reciprocated before pushing the revolving doors.

The inside of the tower was grand, complete with polished, marbled floor, tall glass windows leading up three stories, a fleet of four elevators leading up one wall on Jonathan's left with long polished wood desks in front of them, blocking people from just walking in. At the far end of the tower was a small cafe, and Jonathan noticed with a thoughtful smile the number of tables and chairs unbolted. Above him, Jonathan could see the balconies from which offices and other individuals walked, some talking with other similarly suited individuals, others totally absorbed in their phones.

"They spared no expense," Brock's voice was hushed in Jonathan's ear, but the awe in it was audible. Jonathan felt it, and the slight giggle Lui made over the intercom meant it felt it too.

"So how are we gonna do this?" Lui asked, prompting Jonathan to look around for a distraction.

"Keep moving, look like you're waiting for someone," Jonathan reminded, moving to one side and leaning up against the wall, pulling out his cellphone as if to text someone.

Jonathan hummed down at the phone, glancing from the desks to the cafe to the elevators. He saw nothing almost, except for a small little red device on the wall. Jonathan grinned, seeing it, and began to saunter in that direction.

"I've got an idea that will get everyone out of the building," Jonathan smirked, walking past the fire alarm with a slow walk before turning and looking around. "Unprotected in my building. I don't know if it will shut down the place or give us a chance to clear out…" Jonathan mused.

"I've found it in my building," Brock confirmed.

"Same.." Lui added, he sounded slightly distracted, and Jonathan caught on.

"Lui, update?"

"David isn't making sense…" Lui breathed. "He keeps interrupting himself, I don't know…"

"Is he telling us to back down?" Jonathan asked, feeling his heart begin to knock against his ribs. If the decoys were in trouble—if Evan was in trouble—and Jonathan couldn't do anything to help him, he wouldn't ever forgive himself. "Are they okay?"

"Yeah, yeah they're fine but—" Lui was silent then. Painfully silent, the kind of silent that made Jonathan want to kick and bite something.

"Well?" Brock responded angrily over the intercom. He was antsy too, and it showed in his tone.

"Shut up!" Lui hissed.

Jonathan sighed, bowing his head and sucking air in through his teeth. He hated waiting, especially in here. The entire place felt claustrophobic and sterile. Too clean, too clinical, too refined. It made him uneasy, and the lack of cameras was also making him anxious.

One thing he noticed when he walked in, no cameras. Nothing. None on the front desks, none of the elevators, none on the front door; there was absolutely no surveillance. What could Jonathan possibly be missing about these towers?

"Pull the alarms now," Lui breathed, his breath low and tight.

"What?" Brock asked. "Why?"

"David—the men—these towers—it's all rigged!" Lui sounded more and more panicked with each second, speeding up Jonathan's thumping heart.

"What do you mean rigged Lui?" Jonathan asked, pressing his hand over the invisible mic, aware of how suspicious he looked, but he didn't care.

"Mr. Clark said the guards are all specially trained Renegades. All of the Renegades we have fought this far were rejects!"

"Rejects?" Jonathan asked, frowning. Something caught his eye by the door and he saw three guards wandering in all of them watching him.

"This program wasn't just designed as an entertainment thing. This is an international training company, that's how Abra can afford these towers, why they have access to over the seas companies. This is Build-A-Thug, and we are standing at ground zero with a bunch of thugs closing in on us…" Lui's voice was growing higher and higher pitched, closing with panic as he watched guards advance on him too probably. Jonathan swallowed, looking at the guards coming at him. They were all big, muscled, and had a glint that Jonathan had only ever seen in Alexa once, just once, the worst day of her life.

"PULL THE ALARM NOW!" Lui screamed. Jonathan didn't need to be told a second time. He yanked the pull lever down, setting of bells and lights flashing all over the lobby. As he ran, he pulled out his KRISS Vector, loading it up as the sounds of gunshots echoed around the lobby. Jonathan darted towards the cafe, kicking a table over to create a hiding spot which he slumped behind panting.

"Surviving?" He asked, pulling out two smoke canisters from his pockets.

"Is it bad to say I missed this?" Brock asked, an ironic laugh echoing from both he and Lui. Jonathan giggled as well, triggering the canisters and throwing one in a long arc towards the door and another in a short arc, covering the lobby with a thick layer of smoke.

"You guys wanna know something funny?" Lui's voice crackled. "David said there were two hundred Renegade thugs in here."

"Only two hundred?" Brock's voice dripped sarcasm, he was not happy by that number. "I was expecting five hundred."

"You were!" Jonathan pointed out, still slumped behind his table. "I told you guys the day you arrived at base we had to fight and kill five hundred Renegades! Well, I wasn't entirely right there; you only have to kill two hundred today," Jonathan snickered, glancing over the top of the table. Through the smoke he could see the figures of guards and pedestrians. Most of the innocents were making their way to the door, screaming and shouting, while guards made their way blindly through the smoke.

"So do what you were trained to do. Alexa may be a "reject," but I bet you she can take out all two hundred of them if she tried," Jonathan spoke, pulling his pants leg and pulling out the one weapon he was so glad he'd made the boys bring today: a machete. "Get out there and make those fuckers bleed for what they've done to us," Jonathan finished, pulling a black burglar's mask down over his face and rolling out from behind the table.

Careful not to let the knife clink against the marble floor before rising up, machete clutched in his hand and KRISS Vector loaded and readied in the other. Smoke billowed around him, stinging his eyes but not his throat thanks to the burglar mask. Jonathan was ready, and with cautious, light steps, he descended into the smoke, not emerging until he heard the screams of pedestrians outside in the courtyard.

Jonathan knew what was making them scream. And the sudden crackle of voices over the intercom proved it.

"I hope you boys haven't spoiled ALL of the fun," the sugary voice of his best friend smirked over intercom.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Jonathan retorted, slitting the neck of the Renegade guard he was holding down before jumping up and running to the revolving doors, pushing them open to see if the other six parked outside his building. Evan jumped out the backdoors, waving with a large grin on his face. Jonathan smiled back.

"J you look like you just killed a bunch of people," Evan snickered into the intercom. Tyler, Craig, and David turned to look at Jonathan, only to laugh. Jonathan looked down at himself, noticing the blood stained sleeves of his dress shirt. He shrugged it off, tying it around his waist and rolled up the sleeves of his white button down as he listened over intercom.

"Groups?" Tyler asked, bouncing slightly with his Kel-Tec KSG Patrol gun in hand and—for some reason—a titanium baseball bat slung across his back. Jonathan noted the handle of it was bloody.

"With Jonathan, Craig and David. With Brock, me and Tyler. With Lui, Alexa and Brian," Evan ordered into his mic.

Tyler must have frowned bitterly, Jonathan wasn't sure, all he knew was Evan responded shortly and without much care.

"We're trying to blow up three buildings here. Last thing we need is a group of three where once person is third wheeling. Now MOVE," Evan snarled, starting off at a jogging pace towards the middle building followed by Tyler. Alexa and Brian also headed off towards the far building where Lui was.

Craig and David met Jonathan at the revolving doors, each with their own black burglar masks, black jan sports bags, and barcode jacket. With a thankful smile, Jonathan took his barcode jacket from Craig, shrugging it onto himself before glancing back up at the two of them.

"Are you ready?" Jonathan asked.

Craig and David nodded. They were ready, and Jonathan knew it. He'd watched them train and get into shape, been at their sides on every heist, suffered and struggled right along with them. Whatever any of those "highly-trained" Renegade scums could throw at them, Jonathan was sure nothing could happen.

"Who has the explosives?"

David shouldered a black jan sports bag.

"Craig has the gas masks?"

Craig nodded.

"Then let's make these fuckers pay for the years of our lives we won't get back."


	3. Chapter 34 - Not The Plan

Lui was more than happy to have Brian and Alexa as he team mates for their final heist. Brian was the one running the explosive show, and Alexa was Alexa. So when the two came jogging into Lui's still smokey building, shouting his name to locate him, Lui couldn't help but grin.

"Elevators!" Lui shouted, shouldering his Bolt Action SSG Tactical.

Through the smoke, Alexa and Brian emerged, both carrying black backpacks — Alexa with her rocket launcher and Brian with his mini gun — and pulling black ski masks down over their faces as well. Both of them wore the denim jackets under which Lui could see the dark pants, long sleeves, and bulletproof vests they both had dressed in on the way.

The two skidded to a halt, grinning a welcome at one another before the elevator door behind them dinged open and they fell in, panting.

"Good job on not dying," Brian grinned through his dark ski mask, eyes lighting up as they caught Lui's. Lui grinned back, chuckling to himself.

"Good job? I deserve a medal I'm that boss!" Lui laughed, Alexa laughing as well.

"So here is the deal: there are twenty-seven floors in this building. Twenty are actually offices, two are conference room floors, the three story tall reception room, and basements, which are another two stories deep. Aside from that, there's not much we really know…" Alexa's voiced trailed off as she bit her lip and rubbed the back of her neck.

Lui blinked. "You're joking, right?"

Brian shook his head, biting his lip similarly. "Afraid not. Shall we say someone lost their cool a little too quickly?" Brian asked, turning to Alexa who met him with a warning glare.

"Really?" Lui's eyelids lowered over his eyes as he set his gaze on the girl next to him.

Alexa glared at him. "Okay, you know what? If I'm letting Brian blow up the building, I'm allowed to let loss a little steam and shoot a motherfucker in the head!" She cried indignantly, jutting out a hip and resting a hand on it. "And if you're gonna tell me I can't, then you can shove that SSG up your—"

The elevator jolted wildly, making the three inside stumble and fall. Lui snapped his head up to the top of the elevator, listening as loud footsteps stomped above them.

"They're breaking in from above!" Lui screeched, his voice rising into the squeaker voice as he scouted to the side and aimed his gun upwards at the ventilation shaft leading to the top of the elevator.

There was a loud crash of metal against metal, making the grid covering the ventilation shaft jitter and bend.

Alexa hit the wall opposite Lui, both Beretta's aimed up from her crouching position while Brian scraped his mini gun into a corner and pulled the PM 63 RAK from its holster across his back. The bang of metal and metal resounded through the elevator again, making Lui cringe this time. That grid wasn't going to hold much longer.

"They stick their heads through here," Alexa snarled loudly, readying her weapons with a sharp snap, "I'll blow their fucking dicks off."

A high pitched voice surprised the three in the elevator.

"I'm a fucking girl!" the voice shouted angrily, and with a final clang, the grid clattered to the floor and the butt of the gun used to break it jabbed through. Lui squeezed the trigger on his PM 63 RAK, sending a flurry of bullets up through the open shaft and out to the female Renegade outside.

When Lui stopped firing, Brian took up firing, but it didn't stop the armored female Renegade from jumping through the hole and into their elevator. The whole box swayed dangerously again, the four stumbling momentarily to catch their balance. She was dressed in a similar all black, short curly blond hair swaying as her head snapped up and eyes narrowed in on the other girl in the elevator.

Alexa dove for her, screaming "cover the shaft!" as she sent the sole of her shoe into the side of the girl's head. She was slammed against the side of the elevator, and with a muttered "you bitch," she clamped her hands into fists and flew at Alexa. Lui dodged around them to Brian, whose weapon was still pointed upwards and firing. Brian lowered but didn't reload. Instead, he pulled a grenade from his backpack and unpinned it, throwing a perfect arch out and onto the top of the elevator.

"Nice hand," Lui complimented. "But you just threw a live grenade on top of our elevator…" Lui said slowly, looking to Brian who was grinning wildly.

"That's right," Brian winked, pushing Lui's head down as he ducked as well.

Lui looked up to Alexa opposite them in the elevator. The rival Renegade girl was pinned to the floor under Alexa, who was just delivering a final punch to the jaw, landing with a painful thud and finishing with a sickening crack. Alexa glanced up and—with a nod of understanding—rolled off the girl, pulled her up by her collar and pushed her to the center of the elevator before Alexa threw herself to the floor.

Grenade went off with a splitting noise or metal meeting fire, flames licking down into the elevator and deafening everyone inside. The rival Renegade girl screamed, falling to the floor and clutching her face.

At the same time the elevator creaked loudly, slanting to the right with a sudden jolt. A shudder, another groan, and then a loud snapping noise as the cable holding up the elevator broke.

The metal box plummeted, giving Lui the short feeling of being weightless. They crashed to the bottom of the elevator shaft with a violent and ear splitting scrape of metal and metal, throwing Lui, Brian, and Alexa back to the floor with hard thuds and a shout from Brian. Lui's head hit against the wall, pain numbing all other senses momentarily.

Everything was quite and still; the rival Renegade girl lay silently in front of Lui, her singed hair and still smoking clothes smoking slightly. It took Lui several long seconds before he could make out sounds again, the groan from Alexa across from them as she sat up, clutching her left shoulder and barring her teeth. The sounds of sparks and creaking of metal as the elevator settled in it's crashed and tilted position made it's way eventually to Lui's ears. Lui moved his head, wincing at the pain, to see Brian lying on his stomach, his head twisted to the side and arms spread up above his head. He groaned to show he was still alive, but still didn't move.

Lui's heart jumped when he saw Brian and he tried to move his aching body to Brian. He flinched as a sharp pain jumped across his jaw. Across the room, Alexa stood, wobbling slightly and still clutching her left shoulder as she stumbled across the room, nearly tripping over the body of the Renegade girl. She knelt down to Brian, placing fingers on either side of his neck and starring hard at him, willing him to get up without her help. Brian groaned again, this time moving an arm to wave Alexa off before placing the palms of his hands on the floor and pushing upwards. From his spot, a dark, wet, bloody patch of liquid stained the primly tiled floor of the once immaculate elevator, now darkened with fire burn marks.

Alexa glanced at Lui with matched alarm before placing a hand gently on Brian's back as he sat up and leaned himself against the wall.

"Hit your head pretty good, there," Alexa commented, reaching to black long sleeve and tearing of a long strip around her waist. Lui copied her, shrugging off his Renegade's jacket and tearing strips off the shoulders for padding. He folded the strips up, placing it on the damp side of Brian's head where he could see the bruise oozing blood slowly. Alexa wrapped the strip of cloth around Brian's head before tying it up to keep the padded cloth in place.

"Feels like I hit my head pretty good," Brian groaned, resisting the urge to touch his makeshift bandages. Brian caught sight of the mark on the floor, starred for a few seconds before registering it came from his head and widened his eyes in shock.

"Brian," Lui said, angling his neck to get in Brian's viewpoint. Brian's pale eyes fixed on Lui's brown, fear flickering across his face.

"Focus on me, okay?"

Brian nodded brokenly, water welling up in his eyes and shaking slightly.

Lui reached for his hands, holding them up palms facing Lui. "Use your fingers, okay?" Lui waited for the nod before continuing.

"How many fingers?" Lui's calm voice was low as he held up two fingers, spread apart slightly. Brian was quick to answer, holding up two fingers. Lui repeated the action, bringing his pinky finger up. Brian answer with three fingers. Finally, Lui lowered his middle finger, and Brian lowered his third finger, counting two.

Lui looked up at Alexa, who was looking towards the elevator doors with a focused frown.

"He's fine—" Lui was cut short by footsteps outside.

"We're not," Alexa growled, moving to the Renegade girl. She brought her boot up and down with a sickening crack that Lui had to look away for, instead focusing on getting Brian to his feet.

"Do you hurt?"

Brian shook his head, stumbling momentarily but finding his balance fast and going to pick up the mini gun. Lui tightened the strap on his SSG Tactical and unbuckled the PM 63 RAK from his back. Alexa joined his side, attaching a large RPG to the head of her rocket launcher. Lui noticed without much surprise the extra armor she had acquired, as well as hunting knife stuffed into her boot and extra pistol snuggled into the back of her jeans. The Renegade girl must have been well armed.

"Ready?" Alexa asked, looking around.

Brian didn't wait. The mini gun ripped into the metal of the elevator door, create holes through which shouts could be heard. As he fired, Brian advanced on the door until he was close, then stopped shooting and swung the heavy mini gun so it connected with the doors. The weight did the trick, popping the metal out like the lid of a jack in the box, exposing them to the outside.

Lui's eyes widened. They were looking out into a small glass partition room with equally primly decorated tiles and ceiling. Glass littered the floor from Brian's shots, but that didn't stop seem to worry the twenty or so men and women in dark formal suites carried weapons aimed straight at them.

As soon as the metal doors were off, Brian ducked and Alexa fired her rocket launcher, the missile flying out as Brian jumped back towards the other two. Lui and Alexa caught him, all ducking to the sides as the missile blew up, more explosions scarring the white tiles.

Now Lui joined, bringing out the machete Jonathan had made him pack in preparation for just this: hand to hand combat. Lui was small, and the size made a huge difference now as he jumped out and slit the throat of the closest Renegade. Alexa ducked out too, hunting knife at the ready as she buried the blade into the neck of another. Brian took up the rear, PM RAK 63 covering any errors in their defense or Renegades they left behind.

Lui felt a foot connect with his side, throwing him through a glass wall off to the side. He hit the floor with a heavy thud, but was on his knees machete already slicing towards the Renegade guard following him. The guard — a man with dark hair and dark eyes — jumped backwards, dodging the blade but raising his gun again. Lui took a step, ducking underneath the guns' nose and body slamming the man back through the glass wall. The Renegade fell hard on the concrete floor, bringing his machete down into the man's chest.

Above him, he saw Alexa swing her leg in a round house kick, knocking one guy to the ground before pointing her left Beretta and firing point blank into another Renegade's face. She glanced in Lui's direction giving him a silent nod of approval before ducking under a fist and bringing the heel of her hand up into the Renegade's nose.

Lui swung his machete up and around as he rolled off the now dead Renegade under him, sweeping his leg out and bringing down one particularly large Renegade. The man growled, jumping to a crouched position then diving at Lui, taking him down. The guy pinned Lui, throwing brass knuckled punches into the sides of his face several times. The Renegade brought out a pistol then, readying the weapon before bringing the nose of it down to Lui's forehead, grinning wildly. Lui spat a mouthful of blood up into the Renegade's face, stunning him momentarily but giving Brian behind him enough time to aim and pump a round into the Renegade. Lui pushed him off with a heave, finding Alexa's hand as she pulled him up, a concerned frown on her face.

"You good?" Alexa asked, her eyes searching his. Lui nodded, spitting bloody spit again, but whipping it away with the back of his wrist. The guards here were dead, bodies lying prostrate on the floor all around them. Lui could see a large cut above Alexa's left eyebrow, and a bloodied rip in her black jeans. Her clothes were stained with blood, but like Lui, it wasn't hers.

"That was exciting," Brian observed, joining them. He looked around them, taking in the underneath of the building. Lui did too; all around them, glass cubicles now shattered created an intricate labyrinth around them. Lining the walls, Lui could see metal doors with bars over the small windows looking out. The other big thing Lui noticed were the thick concrete pillars positioned regularly around the space.

"Supports…" Alexa breathed, voicing what Lui and Brian were thinking.

"Yep…" Brian replied, a little stunned. But then he giggled. "It's almost too easy."

"Okay, Brian, give Lui and I some of the dynamite. We'll rig each support to blow," Alexa ordered, reaching out a hand for the several C4 Brian gave her. Lui did too, but was eyeing the barred metal doors lining the wall still. None of the others noticed, so when the split to rig each support — about twenty, since they were doing all the supports on one side to make the building fall — Lui made his way to a column close to one of the doors. After rigging the column with two C4 and priming it, he turned his attention to the metal door behind him. The window was high up, but Lui could see in if he stood on his toes. And what he saw made his blood run ice cold and a fresh sweat begin to drip off him.

"Lui!" Alexa's voice called from across the room. "We've got other columns, come on!"

But Lui couldn't move. His eyes were fixed on what he saw inside, unable to tear them away or stop Alexa from coming over when he heard her footsteps.

Inside was a metal chair. Rope was tied around the front legs and arm rests of the chair. The floor of the room looked as though someone tried to clean it up but got bored halfway through, as only a small space around the actual chair was even remotely clean. Tables lined the left side wall, completely covered with items ranging from several bloody knuckle dusters to a similarly messy chainsaw. In front of the chair was an empty camera tripod, a bare light bulb hanging low from the ceiling. The bulb was off, and large LED lights embedded in the ceiling filled the room with a flat light; it looked almost staged, but Lui recognized the room from a description Alexa had given him a while back.

Alexa's faced confirmed his thought, and Lui's squinted his eyes shut with a groan.

"I'm sorry, 'Lex," he murmured, sinking back down to his feet and drawing a thin line with his mouth when Brian gave him a questioning frown. Brian got in, and nodded with understanding, looking up at Alexa still unmoving.

She was silent a long time, just starring before she finally sighed.

"I don't know why I'm surprised," Alexa's monotone voice startled Lui. "These fuckers control everything. It made sense they filmed those fucking videos here."

Lui watched her back as she lowered herself back onto her feet with a heavy sigh. She seemed to age a million years in front of him and for the first time since he met her, Lui was suddenly aware of just how different their age was. Here Alexa was, twenty-one, and Lui, thirty-two. Eleven years difference, but it could have easily been a century of pain and suffering; Alexa wasn't young, she was old, and Lui felt like a baby in contrast to her.

"Let's get this over with. I'm blowing this building sky high, and no one is stopping me," Alexa's voice was calm, and her suddenly peaceful demeanor made Lui nervous. This wasn't like Alexa, especially since she was just reminded of the reason WHY they were doing this stupid heist to begin with. For Alexa, this wasn't about getting out of Renegades, this was about getting her friends back.

Lui glanced at Brian, both exchanging knowing looks before following Alexa to rig the last few columns. Get this over with as soon as possible, and make this damn program pay for the years of hurt.


	4. Chapter 35 - You're Not Done Yet

"How's that shoulder?" Lui asked, glancing back at Alexa as she joined him at his side. Alexa had been left to finish wiring the supports to detonate, while Lui wiped the servers then shot up the computers for good measure. Alexa had thought it over kill, but wasn't going to say anything; Lui had had enough of the Renegade shit as is, so he could be excused for wasting a few bullets to take out his anger.

She grunted a response, and Lui took it.

Brian was inside the elevator, looking up through the hatch where he'd thrown the grenade. "It better be good enough to climb…" Lui warned.

Alexa frowned, looking at him. "Climb?"

"Yep," Brian answered, pulling himself up and through the hatch up to the top of the elevator.

Alexa groaned. "Your fucking joking," She looked at Lui again. "You're letting the guy who smacked his head against the floor make the decisions?"

Lui snickered, but followed Brian's tracks into the elevator, stepping over rubble and the dead Renegade girl inside. He took Brian's hand as he hauled himself through the small hatch.

Rolling her eyes, Alexa followed him, taking the outstretched hands both Brian and Lui offered her. As she was pulled through, Alexa felt her shoulder scream and tears nip at the corners of her eyes. Once through the hatch, Alexa collapsed on the floor, clutching her shoulder and gritting her teeth. It was worse than she thought.

"Knew you were lying," Lui hissed, concern riddling his face as he crouched on the floor in front of her. He searched her eyes as he asked "What's going on?"

Alexa sighed, pushing herself up slightly. "I landed on it funny, no big deal," she said, keeping her eyes on Lui as she spoke. He bought it, thankfully, and stood, looking to Brian.

Alexa didn't want to tell Lui the Renegade bitch had aimed a knife at Alexa's throat but Alexa blocked it with her shoulder. Or that she managed to twist her arm nearly out of its socket, but instead trapped a muscle and probably broke something. She didn't want to make them worry about her.

Brian had found a workers ladder running up the inside of the elevator shaft, and was already working on breaking the lock. It snapped quickly and Brian started up the ladder, stopping once he was up a way to help Alexa. The ladder itself was inset in the shaft walls, with a chicken wire cage covering in and actual metal panels placed intermittently up the cage. Lui held out his hand for Alexa, who took it thankfully, and guided her to the ladder where Brian helped to pull her up.

Alexa winced again, her knuckles tightening on the ladder rungs as she pulled herself up. Lui took up the rear, patiently waiting as Alexa made her way slowly upwards.

"How many floors?" Alexa asked, looking upwards at Brian.

"Not sure, we fell a lot more than two stories, so I'm assuming our friends at the restaurant lied to us."

"Not fucking surprised," Lui joined in below her. "This is Renegades we're talking about. The day they're actually fucking truthful about something I'll be surprised."

Their bluetooth earpieces emitted a high pitch wail suddenly, making all three of them cringe, Brian ripping his out of his ear momentarily. Alexa swore, pressing the side of her face against the wall briefly to activate the mic. "What the FUCK was that?" she screamed, yanking herself up another rung.

"Bad news," Craig's voice was wobbly. "We got company, and lots of it."

"Company?" Jonathan's voice chimed in. "Police? Renegades?"

"Renegades," Craig confirmed. "But not just a few gangs, EVERY gang within a ten mile radius!"

"What?" Alexa breathed, frowning as she glanced alarmed up at Brian and down at Lui. Brian reached down taking Alexa's not damaged arm and pulling her up, all of them picking up speed.

"How can they be getting so many Renegades to one spot?" Brock's voice chimed in. "Distress call?"

"Must be," Lui spoke up. "I cleared the servers of important documents, maybe it was that wipe that sent out a distress call…"

"But why so many?" Brock continued. "There's gotta be SOME groups who hate this program as much as we do."

"There's money placed on our heads," Alexa cut in, silencing the boys. "Remember after the first heist? A million dollars for all of us? I can't imagine what its up to now—"

"And that's just the police. Can you image what Renegade is putting forward to stop us?" Jonathan added, his voice rising as he realized how much of a motive that was.

"Well let's get fucking going then," Tyler broke the pause after Jonathan's words. "Craig, how long we got?"

"We don't have a time clock they're pretty much outside!" Craig cried.

"Fuck man…" Tyler swore, going silent as he thought.

Above Alexa, Brian stopped, letting go of her momentarily to reload his PM RAK 63. He'd left his mini gun down in the basement, since none of them could carry it up a ladder.

"Ev, we still got some C4 left?" Tyler asked,

"Yep."

"Craig, you guys got any?"

"Yeah…?"

"Then let's make them regret ever getting out of fucking bed this morning!"

Alexa grinned at the shouting and excitement over the intercoms. She felt Brian take her hand again and Lui pushing her up from underneath; they both wanted to get up and fight.

"Let's show them why we got a million dollar reward after our first heist!" Tyler shouted gleefully, the sound of his gun reloading noisily in the background.

Something binged behind Alexa and as the trio turned to face the opposite wall of the elevator shaft, Alexa saw an elevator door of one of the levels sliding open. On the other side of the door, guards with guns stood, pointed and ready, and grinning maniacally.

"Oh COME ON!" Lui screeched, clambering quickly upwards to a metal sheet lining the chicken wire cage, protecting him from the onslaught of bullets that came quickly after. Brian yanked Alexa up to the one protecting him, causing another spasm and this time vomit inducing pain to run through Alexa's system. Alexa screamed into Brian's shoulder, the latter pulling her up into a tight hug as he shot his PM RAK over the top of the metal sheet randomly.

"BRIAN!" Lui shouted from below them, making them look down. Lui was motioning for them to keep moving. Brian looked at Alexa, their eyes locking. He didn't need to ask, she trusted him, so handing his backpack to her to carry, Brian spun and Alexa wrapped her arms around his neck, wincing slightly. Brian started to climb, fast, Lui behind him, the jolting sensations hurting Alexa's arm to the point of tears. She bit down on her lip, blinking them away as fast as they came.

Another elevator door opened behind them, and more guns began firing at them. Bullets hit Alexa's back, but her bullet proof armor protected her from the worst damage. Below, Lui paused momentarily to shoot a few, but kept climbing. They were almost to the ground floor, Alexa noticed, reading the large number two painted in white stencil font above the opened elevator door. They passed another level quickly, the elevator doors not opening this time, and finally stopped across the opened elevator doors to the ground floor. Alexa unhooked her arms from around Brian's neck while Brian dug out wire cutters from his bag, getting to work on the chicken wire incasing the ladder.

Alexa pulled out a single beretta, taking aim at the opened elevator door below them and firing several rounds towards it. Lui below was also firing, glancing upwards and nodding a thanks at Alexa.

Brian worked on the chicken wire quickly, cutting a hole large enough for him and the others to fit through before kicking it out. The wire clattered to the floor far below them, catching the attention of the Renegades below. Bullets started to fly upwards, forcing Brock to press himself against the ladder again, breathing heavily from climbing so fast up the ladder.

"Alexa!" Lui called up to her, making a throwing motion. Alexa got it, digging in Brian's backpack, pulling out a grenade.

"How many seconds?"

"Five," Brian answered, his eyes widening with understanding.

She had to time this right, since Alexa couldn't throw the grenade through the elevator doors below. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the pin out, counting the seconds out loud.

"One," Alexa murmured, dropping the pin into her pocket so as not to alert the Renegades below.

"Two," she continued, now moving her hand and grenade to the edge of the chicken wire hole Brian cut.

"Three," she glanced at Brian, fear in his eyes as he watched and counted as well.

"Four," Alexa nodded, dropping the grenade and watching it fall two levels down to the first open elevator door before exploding.

The force pressed the trio against the ladder, all averting their eyes except for Brian, who pushed passed Alexa and, bracing himself against the ladder and chicken wire cage, jumped across to the open elevator doors.

Alexa and Lui caught on fast, Lui climbing up to where Alexa was to help her brace against the ladder. Across the elevator shaft, Brian's outstretched arms waited for her.

"Hurry!" he hissed loud enough for the two to hear. The smoke from the grenade was clearing fast, and they had to move. Alexa took a deep breath and jumped, flying into Brian's arms who caught her and semi carried her to behind the reception desk. Brian caught Lui as he jumped too, before returning to Alexa.

"You good?" Brian asked, his hand on Alexa's shoulder comfortingly. Alexa wasn't; her shoulder was on fire, and not in a good way. She should be resting it, putting it in a sling, not climbing ladders and being pulled around placed by it.

"Yeah," Alexa rolled her eyes, laughing it off. "I'm not letting my arm stop my guys."

Brian and Lui glanced at each other before helping her to her feet. Alexa removed her Beretta's from their holsters, checking to make sure they were loaded before following the guys around the reception desk and into the main lobby.

The sight that met the three of them made Alexa's jaw drop.

Armored vans crawling with people, some with matching clothing or accessories, others in pedestrian clothing, and still more in suites littered the courtyard outside. Most were engaged in fights already, probably from the others in their group. Turning on her bluetooth, Alexa knew her answer as soon as the shouting and orders flooded her ears.

"COVER ME TYLER!"

"WOULD IF I DIDN'T HAVE THIS FUCKTARD SO FAR UP MY DICK HOLE!"

"THIS MOTHERFUCKER…DIE BITCH!"

"DAVID TWO O'CLOCK!"

"EAT MY ASS FUCKING RENEGADES!"

Alexa grinned. At least they were winning and alive.

Brian and Lui started to push Alexa backwards as a group of thirty Renegades headed for the glass doors, raising guns ready to fire.

Alexa turned and ran with the other boys, running into the cafe and overturning several of the tables to use as cover. Glass shattered as bullets broke through the door, the trio leaning over the makeshift barricade and firing round after round in retaliation. Alexa removed her RPG from her back, throwing one missiles into it before slamming it over the edge of the barricade and firing it into the mass of Renegades. The explosion absolutely destroyed the room, burning the tiles and shaking the glass windows out of place. Couches lining the walls were thrown up the walls and came crashing down in awkward positions.

"Yes!" Lui hissed, allowing himself a small smile.

Behind the three, more glass shattered, and Alexa turned in horror to see a small group of six Renegades enter through the back, fists at the ready brandishing weapons.

"Fuck," Lui groaned.

These Renegades were easy shots, but so were they, and Brian screamed as a bullet entered his stomach before entering a bullet into the culprits forehead. Alexa helped Brian to stand up, the latter panting from the pain. Alexa followed Lui as the three moved back to the reception desk, taking shelter behind it as more Renegades entered from both the back and the front entrance.

They were trapped.

Alexa hit her head against the wooden desk, listening as the sounds of slow footsteps patted against the tiles. Brian's short breaths interrupted the evenness as Lui pressed ripped fabric from Brian's shirt to his stomach, panic growing his eyes. He caught Alexa's eyes momentarily before sighing, a look so sad and regretful, melting his eyes to water. Alexa felt her heart aching for him and Brian; they weren't getting out of this alive, and it mattered because they had someone waiting for them. David and Brock would be heart broken.

"At least…" Lui breathed, his voice shaky as he spoke, but still catching Alexa's attention. "At least I'm dying with my friends…" Lui smiled weakly, looking up at Alexa.

"Thank you for everything Lex, you've been a great friend…I just…" Lui's voice cracked and he stopped talking.

Alexa leaned forward, placing a hand on Lui's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "You don't get to say thank you yet, you're not out of this."

"We're not getting out of this," Lui laughed, shaking his head at her. "We're done."

"No."

Lui frowned, starring confusedly at her. Alexa just smiled back, allowing her hand to drop from his shoulder. "You're not done yet," she promised, turning to Brian.

"You okay dude?"

Brian grunted a reply, trying to slow his breath. Alexa took his hand in both of hers and smiled.

"Brian…remember when we first met?" Alexa's voice was low as she spoke. "You didn't trust me, kept that gun pointed right to my chest…do you trust me now?"

Brian took a long shaky breath, swallowing hard. "Yes," he managed, frowning. "But—"

"—And I'm really sorry," Alexa started, taking the detonator from his jean's pocket and pushing back. "But I'm taking back that promise I made you about blowing up the buildings."

"Alexa…?" Brian started, reaching forward to stop her but she slide back again. She shoved the detonator into her jeans pocket, the red button barely visible. She reloaded her deafly, like she'd done thousands of times before, then grabbed Lui's machete from his bag, sliding it between her black jeans and tightly bound gun holster. She dropped both bags too, giving them to Brian.

"When I tell you to, you run for the entrance. Don't come back. Promise me you won't let ANYONE come back."

Lui and Brian nodded unable to do anything but stare open mouthed at her. She loved them, so much, but she didn't regret making this choice.

"You're not done yet," Alexa smiled, looking between both of them. "And promise me you won't be done for a long time yet."

And with that, Alexa stood, walking between the space between reception desks and into the lobby. She headed to the back, drawing attention to her with an RPG blasting the front entrance. The blast made Alexa's ears ring, but she didn't care, instead grinning as she saw the rest of the Renegades camping outside run inside. She dropped the RPG, now useless without more ammo, pulling out her Berettas and firing shot after shot into Renegade after Renegade as they closed in on her.

Alexa didn't miss, planting bullet after bullet into foreheads with ease. She felt a bullet penetrate her leg, making her wobble momentarily, but she ignored the pain and kept shooting flawlessly. The guns clicked empty, and dropping the guns, Alexa resorted to machete, tackling the first Renegade to come at her, slitting his throat and sending a fountain of blood into the air.

"RUN!" Alexa screamed, sweeping the machete through more Renegades, only looking up and away momentarily to see Brian with his arm around Lui for support, the two running full speed to the unguarded entrance as the rest of their crew came full speed sprinting across the courtyard to their building.

"Run…" she repeated again, feeling several bullets entering her stomach and a knife penetrating her arm. She kept fighting, ignoring the screaming pain for as long as she could until a fist landed against her cheek knocking her to the floor. Her vision was blurred, a dark red vignette enclosing everything around her slowly as laughter echoed around her. Through the jostle of feet, Alexa could just make out the silhouettes of her best friends outside, and smiled.

"…Run…" Alexa whispered, her eyes fixed on her friends. And with her final breath before loosing consciousness, she pressed the red button on the detonator.

* * *

"WHY DID YOU GUYS LEAVE HER?" Jonathan screamed, pushing past Lui and Brian only to be caught by Brock and Tyler, pulling him back from the glass doors.

"We did what she told us to do!" Lui shouted, glaring at Jonathan.

"Alexa is still in there?" Craig yelled, just arriving at the scene with David in tow and Evan bringing up the rear.

Through the glass door, Brian could see the swarm of Renegades and the faint outline of Alexa, still fighting. She wasn't looking good, and Brian saw her fall to the floor suddenly.

"NO!" Jonathan screamed, kicking and flailing at Brock and Tyler's grip. None of them seemed to hear Jonathan's protests, all eyes fixed inside as they waited for inevitable.

"LET ME GO! ALEXA NO!" Jonathan pleaded, straining hard.

And then it came.

It was a flash of light first, fire and smoke rising upwards from the floor of the building as the supports underground cracked. Then the sound and the force, blowing all of them over and onto the concrete floor, dust billowing up around the building. The structure teetered momentarily before falling to the left, crashing into it's neighboring building as it too exploded from the C4 inside. The third building behind them groaned too as it exploded, falling downwards on its foundation and adding to the wall of dust rushing towards the eight of them.

Brian buried his face in Lui's shoulder as the dust hit, throwing them all back to the floor again with enough force to push over a few of the vehicles around them. But moments later, the dust calmed, still filling the now dusk sky and air with dirt and debris.

A scream made Brian look up, dazed from the explosion and dust. Jonathan, still held by Tyler and Brock, tear streaks lined Jonathan's red face as he screamed, his blue eyes overflowing and his voice tearing itself to shreds as he screamed one name.

"ALEXA!" He cried, his voice choking and catching as he screamed her name again and again and again. Tyler and Brock were also in tears, faces scrunched and turned away from where Jonathan was looking.

Brian looked to where the building had been standing, where Alexa had stood her ground only moments ago, alive and breathing, and felt his own tears creating streaks down his cheeks too. Lui shook next to him, crying as well, and the others around him. It was loud, painful crying that ripped the soul into pieces, the kind of crying you only hear when you've lost your best friend.

It seemed like years before Brian became aware of another presence.

Turning around, Brian saw three armored black vans, their backs opened and facing the eight of them, each accompanied by more Renegades in suits with guns loaded and readied. But in front of the vans and guards was a women in a white lab coat and thick glasses flanked by two business men similar to those Brian saw in the restaurant earlier. She starred opened mouthed at the destruction in front of them.

After a long silence, the lady finally managed to speak, and it was a mixture of awe, fear, and excitement in her voice.

"What have you boys done?"


	5. Chapter 36 - This Is It

Jonathan couldn't feel anything. He didn't feel when Tyler and Brock let go of his arms and he was forced into the back of the armored black vans. He didn't feel the bumpy ride or the comforting arm Evan wrapped around his shoulders. He didn't feel being dragged out of the van, or being thrown into the small padded room he was now sharing with the other seven.

It was silent, very silent considering everyone was crammed into a small room. Evan sat next to Jonathan, his arm around Jonathan's shoulder and head resting on his shoulder. Across the room, Brian was sitting agains the wall, his shirt missing and bandages wrapped tightly around his stomach. Brock sat with Brian's hand in both of his, while David kneeled in front, tying up the last piece of Brian's bandage. Lui was lying on the floor in the center, starring up at the ceiling absentmindedly while Tyler sat next to Evan with Craig's head in his lap.

David was the only sound in the room, mumbling low under his breath as he kept Brian focused on him.

"Can't remove the bullet, so best we can do is bandage it up for now," David stood, smiling hopefully at them before turning to look at the four leaning against the wall. Jonathan and David's eyes met, and Jonathan looked away. He was very aware how red and puffy they still were.

"Hey man," David's voice was low and soothing as he crouched in front of Jonathan. Evan stirred next to him, and Jonathan patted his knee.

"I'm okay David…" Jonathan croaked, his voice soar still.

"…you're lying."

Jonathan's head perked up at those words, and he noticed just how bloodshot and puffy David's eyes were. Responding to Jonathan's widened eyes, David smiled wearily.

"Non of us are 'okay' Jonathan," David sighed, rolling onto the floor in front of him. Lui nudged his back with his foot, and David gripped his leg before turning back to Jonathan. He couldn't hold David's gaze and lowered his eyes to white padded floor.

"I know she was a sister to you, but she was like a sister to all of us too. She was the one who trained us, cared for us, and understood and listened to us even during our darkest moments…"

Jonathan sniffed hard, forcing back the wave of tears he felt encroaching on him. Next to him, Evan squeezed his shoulder tight.

"She cared so much about us, worried about our safety on every heist. She gave us everything she had to offer, and…" David's voice cracked slightly on the last word. Jonathan felt a single, fat tear roll down his cheek in that brief silence. Next to him, Evan shuddered with a suppressed sob while the others all held back their own tears.

"…And she ended up giving her life for us, too…" David took a deep breath, steadying his voice. "None of us are okay. Because we didn't just loose a friend, we lost Alexa."

Jonathan scrunched up his eyes, trying desperately to hold the tears back, but to no use. He could still see Alexa, encircled by rival Renegades, swinging her machete into one Renegade after another. He could still see her large brown eyes, her warm smile, and her crazy grin as if engraved into his eyelids. To think she was gone, that he'd never get to see those eyes, that smile ever again…

The white metal door leading into the white padded room swung outwards, and eight figures in all white space-suit-like costumes entered. They all wore large bulbous space-like helmets too, reflective too, so when one knelt down to pull Jonathan up, Jonathan could see his own reflection — dirty, bruised eye, bloodied shoulder sleeve. The figure stood him up and spun him, strapping handcuffs around his wrists, before pushing him out into the hallway. Jonathan didn't protest, neither did the others. They were all far too beaten to fight anymore.

As far as they were concerned, they were trapped and at the mercy of the program completely. None of them could fight the program without Alexa. Renegades had won; Alexa had lost her life for nothing.

Jonathan didn't bother looking up as he walked mindlessly, following the path the white-clad guard pushed him along. It was a never end maze of hallways to him anyway. He didn't look up until he felt guards releasing the cuffs. They had been escorted into a small rectangular room with gray plastered walls and cement floor. A long, thin window running along the top of the far wall while a small metal table sat in the center of the room. On the metal table were two small metal canisters with medicine bottle like screw caps on each. Across the table was the same lady from before, busily speaking in a low voice on a phone with her back to the boys.

Jonathan glanced over his shoulder, noticing the guards all leave, closing the door behind them. He glanced at Evan and Lui, both frowning equally confused as he.

"So…" the lady spoke now, turning to face the eight of them. Jonathan could read a name tag pinned to her breast pocket: Dr. Smithy.

"You boys have caused quite the stir for Renegades these past few years," she hummed, pursing her lipstick smothered lips as she scrolled on her cellphone.

"Damage to a jewelry store, armed robbery of that same store, inciting violence at a nightclub, armed robbery and damaging of two chain banks, stealing vehicles, responsible for mass data loss on our servers, blowing up FOUR of our company-owned buildings, killing over 1.8 million dollars in assets…" her voice slowly edged into nothingness as she continued to scroll, her eyebrows drawing together as she continued to read. Finally, she slid the phone into the pocket of her white lab coat, smiling a fake pleasant smile.

"…People."

Tyler's voice made everyone look at him, taking in his set jaw and hard eyes.

"We KILLED hundreds of people."

The lady swallowed, but didn't bother to correct herself. "But you have also proven yourselves quite skilled in combat, organization, and data collection. Skills a certain buyer is very interested in."

The lady grinned, leaning over the table and unscrewing the canister lids. "This is where I come in. Now these are not your usual Matrix pills, but it's the same concept…more or less…" she giggled at her joke, placing the lids next to each pot, revealing each pot filled with large pills. The left hand canister had large white pills, clear cased filled with white powder. The right hand canister had small red pills filled with what looked like red liquid.

"You boys have an option. It's not an option you have to make all together, but we get a better deal the more of you choose the 'right' option."

"Right option?" Brock questioned.

"Yes. The right option is the red pill. See, one of our biggest investors is willing to pay substantial money to cover all of your damages and find you boys a life outside of Renegades as soldiers. Ironic considering you called yourselves that…" she giggled at her joke. "You'd do whatever our investors need, I think currently you'd be sent out to Iran, but I'm no expert. This pill will neutralize the trackers in your tattoo.

"Or, you take the white pill, not the right option, but still acceptable. The white pill is specially designed by us to wipe a certain amount of time out of your memory depending on the dose. In this instance, one pill would remove two years of your memory. For you, Jonathan," the lady's eyes fell on him, "you would have to take three of these."

Silence fell on the room, Jonathan's eyes unable to move from the table, darting between pill canisters. He felt Evan's hand brush against his, and Jonathan slipped his fingers into his friend's hand, squeezing it tightly and not letting go.

"I'll give you boys some time to decide," the lady smiled, before moving around the table and exiting through the door behind them. Jonathan could hear the lock click into place.

They were quite for a long time, all of them starring at the pills on the table or waiting for someone else to say something. Jonathan kept a tight hold on Evan's hand, frowning as his thoughts raced through his head, sorting out every possibility he could think of. On one hand, freedom from a life of murder and killing, something he'd dreamed of for years. On the other, he would forget Alexa entirely.

"Well, I mean," Craig spoke finally. His voice was soft and delicate, as if scared to hear himself speak. "We get what we always wanted, right?…A way out of Renegades."

"But…" Brian started, pausing to clear his throat. "But then we forget the last two years of our lives…" Brian slid his hand into Brock's looking up into Brock's eyes before sighing.

"I don't wanna forget the last two years of my life…I killed people, yeah, so fucking what? We've all done shit we're not proud of. But I'm not gonna loose those two years I spent fighting for my freedom," Brian raised Brock's hand to his lips, kissing it gently before moving to the right side of the table.

"I take the red pill."

Evan squeezed Jonathan's hand before letting go. "I'll take the red pill too. I can't forget all this…"

"I'm not going back to fighting," Craig's voice cut in. "I was never the strongest, and I can't survive a war like Iran, not without Alexa. I'm taking the white pill."

"Why the fuck would you wanna regret this?" Tyler's voice was hurt.

Jonathan stood silently, his hand missing the warmth grasp of Evan's already.

"Because I can't fight like the rest of you can," Craig's retort sharp.

"I'm taking the white pill too," David added.

"David—no!" Lui said angrily.

"STOP IT!" Jonathan shouted, his fists clenching as he shouted. He looked up, panting from the sudden outburst of energy, to see everyone's eyes on him.

"This is what they want," Jonathan spoke, looking at the pills. "Split us up…divide us…destroy the unstoppable group that brought Renegades to its knees."

"But it's still standing…" Craig responded, motioning around them.

"Did you not hear what she said?" Jonathan asked, looking at Craig. "We cost the program millions, they're selling us to the US Government to get rid of us. We wiped their servers, killed their Renegades, destroyed their company towers, and STILL you think we haven't beaten them?" Jonathan smiled for the first time since the heist.

"We may not have destroyed them, but we've won…" Jonathan looked around the room, seeing his smile catch on the lips of others.

"I'm not playing by their rules anymore. I'm not forgetting Alexa, and I'm not fighting for anyone. So I'm choosing my own option, I'm taking life…" Jonathan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not letting Alexa die for nothing," he said finally.

"What about you guys?"

"Fuck…" Dr. Smithy swore, slamming her cellphone onto her desk.

"Ma'm?" The black suited man in dark sunglasses asked. "…News on Renegades we are selling?"

Dr. Smithy sighed, rubbing her temples. "Of course…those pesky YouTubers…"

"And the girl…right?"

"She died at the scene. Nothing to be done," Dr. Smithy shrugged off her white coat, hanging it gracefully over the back of her chair.

"Nothing to be done? You couldn't have been more careful?"

Dr. Smithy turned, glaring. "She was the one who pulled the trigger that demolished the fucking buildings what do you mean we could have been more careful!"

"It was a simple question ma'm."

"Don't you fucking ma'm me when you're the one questioning my commands," she growled, pointing a finger into the man's chest. "If Renegade was as unsinkable as it says it is then why was it DESTROYED by a team of NINE YOUTUBERS?"

No response. Dr. Smithy rolled her eyes, groaning.

"It doesn't matter. We don't get the price we want because we don't have the girl. They'll still pay for the others, but that girl was valuable. Don't think I don't know how much Renegade wanted her to sell as well."

"Smithy?" a voice from outside her office called. Dr. Smithy looked up, but ignored it.

"Making sure you know," the suited man sighed, rolling his neck. "Because by loosing her, you lost a lot of funding from the program and sponsors."

"Now here's my problem with you right now—"

"Smithy!"

"You're assuming I lost that psycho bitch. She killed herself to save her dumb fucking friends, KNOWING exactly what we'd loose by loosing her."

"Doctor!"

"And as for loosing funding, this program is going down the drain as is! All our data is lost, our stock is dead, and our sponsors are pulling out! If we don't sell those YouTube fuckers in that room, then Renegades is over! This program isn't just fucked, it's DEADER THAN THAT RENEGADE BITCH ALEXA!"

"DOCTOR SMITHY!"

"WHAT?" Dr. Smithy barked through her office door. Outside, lines of computers all facing a central wall of TV screens. One of the girls sitting close to her office, a brunette with short hair and large eyes, was looking over her shoulder worriedly at Dr. Smithy.

"Look," she said, turning back to her computer and moving her image up to the big screen. It was a security camera image from the pill room.

It was empty. The thin window shattered and the table pushed up against the wall. The pill canisters lay on the floor, pills everywhere,

"No fucking…" Dr. Smithy swore, her mouth dropping as she starred. The others in the room all starred too, open mouthed and whispering at the sudden disappearance of eight Renegades.

"Well then, Doctor Smithy," the suited man behind her mused, taking out his own phone and hitting the dial button.

"It looks like you have not only managed to LOOSE our most valuable Renegade, but ALL of her friends too and single handedly end all of chances of Renegade's rebirth. I expect your resignation within the hour. Good day," he smirked, and exited her office without looking back.

Jonathan could feel everything. He felt the wind running through his lengthening hair as he ran, the hard cement under his feet as he ran, the presence of his friends behind him whooping and cheering as they ran, and most importantly, the tight grip of Evan's hand on his.

It didn't matter where they were running, but they were running, the small compound just off the main street in Santa Monica long since faded over the horizon line. The night sky of Los Angeles above them was clear, and the lights imitating from street lights and store windows They'd broken the window with the pill canisters, jumped out the three story window, and just ran for it. But fuck was it the best escape plan Jonathan had ever been part of.

Next to him, Evan turned to look at Jonathan, a wild grin spread across his face as the two's eyes met and they laughed like never before. Behind them, Tyler pushed past them both, Craig on his back as they ran down the sidewalk, followed closely by Brock with Brian on his back.

"WE'RE FUCKING WINNING!" Yelled Brian, flipping Craig and Tyler off over his shoulder.

"NOT FOR MUCH LONGER!" Shouted Tyler, picking up speed. Craig started to scream as Tyler picked up speed, making the four in the back laugh.

Brock and Brian collapsed in the sand first, soon joined by Tyler and Craig both rolling over in a tangle of feet and arms and giggles. Jonathan and Evan joined the pile in the sand, Jonathan sinking between Evan's legs and leaning against his chest, while David sat crosslegged next to them with Lui falling over his shoulders.

"Safe to say WE won that race," Brock giggled, pulling Brian into his arms and planting a kiss on his cheek. Brian giggled, lying down next to Brock's crossed legs.

Tyler sat up with an arm wrapped protectively around Craig's waist. "Just because we LET YOU, right Craig?"

"We were feeling generous!" Craig grinned.

The eight of them laughed before falling into blissful silence, breathing in the sea air as they snuggled against one another.

"So…" David asked, breaking the silence after a long happy pause only interrupted by the slight sounds of kissing. "What's the plan?"

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you," Lui giggled, rubbing his cheek against David's. "But I'm not letting two years go to waste…David? You wanna move in?"

David smirked, pulling Lui around so he was sitting in his lap, wrapping his arms around the smaller man. "Thought you'd never ask," he beamed, pressing a loving kiss against Lui's lips.

"Gross!" Tyler laughed, making the others giggle.

Lui scrunched his nose at them all. "What? Am I too young to move in with him?" Lui asked in his squeaker voice, gaining an uproar of laughter. Jonathan realized, as he laughed into Evan's neck before planting a chaste kiss on it, that was the first time in a long time he'd heard Lui's squeaker voice.

"Hey guys?" Brian cut in, looking at his arm. "Do you think we'll ever get these tattoos off?"

Brock snickered, turning Brian's face to his, smirking at the red glow creeping into it. "I think we should keep it. Memories, right guys?"

"I don't think we can take them off!" David laughed, shrugging as he lowered the sleeve on his shoulder. A wave of agreement ran through the group, making Jonathan smile stupidly all over again.

"Nah I don't think we can either. They've got trackers in them, and I'm not entirely sure how to remove them. But I can deactivate it no problem," Lui offered, grinning as he pulled a handful of red pills out of his pocket, much too the applause of the group.

"Well if Lui is moving in," Tyler started, raising an eyebrow teasing at Craig who swatted him away with a smug roll of his eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'll move out from England you smug bastard! But we're moving to California, I'm not living in Indiana."

"Deal," Tyler laughed. "Besides, kinda like it here," he mused.

"Take it we aren't all just gonna roommate again?" Brock chuckled. A collective groan emitted from the group.

"I like not having to share my underwear with the rest of the house, thanks?" Lui replied.

Evan looked back at Jonathan, his voice barely a whisper. "Jonathan, I don't think I ever said this, but holy fuck dude you're gorgeous under that mask," Evan giggled softly into his ear.

Jonathan blushed. "Thanks, Ev. I don't think I ever said this to you, but," and Jonathan pressed his lips against Evan's much to the cheers from their friends watching. When he pulled away to keep speaking, Evan's lips followed his, desperate not to leave them.

"I think I love you, Vanoss," Jonathan giggled, feeling the strong arms of his best friend and boyfriend wrap tighter around him.

"I think I love you too, Delirioius."


	6. Chapter 37 - Life Moves On

The video started up with a black screen.

"What's up everybody, H2O Delirioius here, how are you all today? Now I know I have been a bit sketchy with the uploads in the last year, but I promise you, I'm gonna get better. I've been going through a lot of personal shit, but there is some big news to come out of it, big news I wanna tell you guys all about today in this first H2O Delirious Vlog—"

"I don't know, kinda spoils the surprise a little?" Evan suggested, leaning over Jonathan's chair as he listened. Jonathan felt the warmth of the hot cup of coffee Evan dangled next to him, taking it with a grateful smile and sipping before speaking.

"I mean, they aren't gonna wait for the surprise for long after that, so…?"

"Oh, really?" Evan replied, shifting positions slightly.

"Yeah, that's right, you heard me subscribers! H2O Delirious Vlog. And that's the first thing I wanna address in this video!"

The video now light up, showing the corner of a room with a large black painted bookshelf, recently erected and empty. But front and center was Jonathan, H2O Delirious himself, his pale blue eyes flashing with that smirk Jonathan had used a thousand times before but was new to his fans. He wore a gray shirt — Evan's shirt Evan pointed out a few frames later — with text that read "Bacon &" repeated several times on the front. Jonathan ran a hand through his recently cut hair, giggling that signature laugh before continuing.

"It's me subscribers! It's H2O Delirious himself. I'm not a fake, I'm not a payed actor, I'm the real deal. And you're going to be seeing a lot more of me in the future as well.

"I want to start doing face cams with my videos, kinda like what Craig—uh—Mini Ladd does with his. I feel like I really wanna start connecting with you guys out there more, and what better way to do that then to have a face cam?

"The second thing I wanted to cover is some more personal stuff, but it's all still good news. Normally I'm very private about my life, but this is kinda a really big deal for me. Firstly, I made the move PERMANENTLY to Los Angeles. For those of you who didn't know, I used to live on the East Coast close to my family. But I was spending a lot of time out in California for… many reasons, so I decided to finally make the move and come out to Los Angeles for good.

"BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE! I love my apartment, I love the weather, it's absolutely amazing. I'm also really close to all my friends, even Brian and David now they've made the official move out here too.

"The next big thing is actually about introducing someone a lot of you subscribers know already, but I wanna introduce him as something a little different to all of you today. He was partially the reason I made the big move out to Los Angeles, and he's been supportive and helpful through everything that's happened in the last year in particular. I don't know what I would have done without him—"

"I'm the second most important thing you mention in your blog?" Evan cut in, giggling.

Jonathan rolled his eyes, laughing as well. "Shut up and give me HELPFUL feedback maybe instead of bitching about how I order my videos?"

Evan waved a hand for him to continue.

"So I'd like you all to meet my boyfriend, or as most of you know him as, Vanoss Gaming," Jonathan looked off to the side as Evan slide into the picture frame, nudging Jonathan and rubbing shoulders with him before waving to camera and saying "hi."

"Couldn't think of anything better to say?" Jonathan teased, turning over his shoulder and scrunching his nose at the Asian behind him. Evan rolled his eyes.

"Don't know if you noticed," Evan drawled, "but I don't do vlogs very often on my channel."

"Evan and I have been friends for a long time, and we started dating like a couple months ago, but our plan to move in together literally only became a reality like yesterday so this is very new."

"Feel free to send us edible arrangements, gift cards, credit card information as a way of congratulations," Evan snickered. Jonathan punched him in the video, giggling himself and following it up with a "please don't do any of that" before continuing.

"I know a lot of our friends have been moving recently, and with Craig and Tyler's wedding coming up, all of us have been a little busy trying to figure out arrangements for the big event, but I'm very happy Evan and I are happily moved in since this is something we've been planning for a long time now.

"And finally, subscribers, say hello to Alexa!"

Jonathan felt his heart skip a beat at the name, but smiled warmly as the Jonathan on screen dipped out of frame momentarily before returning, a puppy blue-gray pitbull with chocolatey brown eyes and great roles of fat cradled lovingly in his arms.

"Shit, when is Alexa done at the vets?" Jonathan asked, turning to Evan with a frown.

"Not for ten minutes. We'll go down there once we're done watching this."

Jonathan nodded, returning to the video.

"Alexa—" he started giggling as the pitbull puppy started to lick his nose, getting Evan to take her so he could talk "—Alexa is named after someone very special to me and all my friends who died recently. She was my best friend for many years, and I wish she was here to see the wedding, our new house, and this little cutie…" Jonathan paused in the video, absent mindedly tickling the puppy's feet before continuing.

Jonathan could see it on his face, and so could Evan since he gripped Jonathan's shoulder with a comforting squeeze. Jonathan could see the sadness flickering behind his eyes as he remembered the explosion that took his best friend, but it passed quickly and a slightly forced smile returned.

"Alexa said she wanted to adopted a pitbull for years. So in her memory, Evan and I went down to the local shelter and adopted this little bundle of energy," Jonathan laughed as the puppy twisted in Evan's arms trying to lick his face, recognizing her name.

Jonathan smiled watching the video, listening to himself talk about Alexa. It had been eight months since Alexa blew up Abra Inc. buildings and effectively brought down the Renegade program. The first two months had been difficult: he'd wake up crying or screaming in the middle of the night, would sit silently starring at nothing lost in thoughts, and he couldn't hear Alexa's name without getting flashbacks. But now it was starting to get a lot easier: he had Evan sleeping permanently in his bed, he had Alexa the puppy sleeping at the foot of that bed, he had his friends on Skype call or literally a fifteen fucking minute walk away in Craig and Tyler's case. Life was easier now, and although Jonathan still had the barcode tattoo, proudly displayed in his tank top, Jonathan wouldn't have gotten rid of it for anything. It connected him to his friends, to his past, and most importantly Alexa. It also reminded him just how lucky he was to have met her and to have called her his friend for years.

The video ended soon after that, with Evan and Jonathan doing the stupid cliche move of making Alexa wave goodbye before cutting to Jonathan's signature exit song and screen.

"It's cute, J," Evan purred, kissing Jonathan's cheek before standing up, taking Jonathan's now empty coffee mug as he went towards the kitchen.

"Glad you think so," Jonathan sighed, clicking out of viewing mode. "I'll set this thing to upload then and then we can go get Alexa from the vet."

"You wanna stop off at Craig and Tyler's on the way back? They haven't seen Alexa yet, and I keep getting messages from Tyler asking when we're having our first puppy play date."

Jonathan fake gagged, setting the video to upload to his official YouTube account. "Fuck Evan that sounds like the whitest thing in the world!"

"Try explaining that to Tyler," Evan snickered. "He's going married-man mode, and it's the funniest shit in the world. Should we text the other four? Brock and Brian will definitely show up, and David and Lui don't have and excuse anymore now they're settled in."

"Okay. I'll monitor the upload on my phone and we can," Jonathan laughed, getting up and stretching. The small office room was piled with new Ikea furniture, two desks facing each other each with setups far grander and larger than they should be, both with recently erected shelves behind them waiting to be filled. On the other side of the room was a coach and coffee table, empty camera equipment boxes and Jonathan's new drone scattered across its plush top. It was a mess, and there was a good reason Alexa wasn't allowed in here until she was done chewing everything in sight.

"Sounds great!" Evan called from the kitchen.

Jonathan started to the door, closing it behind him and catching a glimpse of himself in the over the door mirror. He grinned at the man starring back at him, so unlike his Renegade self. He wasn't as muscled as before, his hair was nicely cut and cared for, he didn't have bags under his eyes, and he would never have worn a navy blue tank top unless he was training. Life was different, but he didn't miss the Renegade life.

He missed Alexa. She would have laughed at his life now: his small, new couple style apartment, his and Evan's shared puppy, their RedBull and Medici's pizza filled fridge, their shared Netflix account, and Jonathan's tattoo. The barcode tattoo.

Jonathan glanced down at his bare shoulder, seeing the thin dark lines drawn on his skin permanently, and smiled. She would have laughed at all of this, all the sentimentality and cliches in his life, but she also would have been so proud of him. Jonathan could still hear her voice, eight months later, the same slightly gravely, slightly condescending voice filled with that warm glow she saved for when she really meant something.

"…Even though you're a fucking idiot, I still love you…"

Yeah, he missed Alexa, but she was never not gonna be with them. Life moves on, and Jonathan was more than grateful that he was moving on without Renegades.

With a smile, Jonathan headed into the main hall, grabbing his car keys from the bowl and shouting to Evan to "hurry up," grabbing a gray hoodie to protect him from the cooling autumn air of Los Angeles and heading out the door, Evan slipping his hand into Jonathan's as they left.


End file.
